Punishment
by Guy Fawkes522
Summary: After losing the woman he loves to another man, Heero becomes the ultimate crime fighter. NO YAOI! EVER! Please R&R NO FLAMES!
1. Ch 1 Pain

**Punishment **

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything but the story.**

Ch. 1 Pain

_Pain. _That's all he felt. _Pain. _A pain so deep that he wished for some object to inflict damage upon him, just to end this agony. However no amount of physical harm that could befall him would be anything to the aching pain in his chest. A broken heart caused his pain…

_Earlier that night…_

_Heero had accompanied Relena to the annual ESUN Christmas Eve Ball in New York City, but only as her bodyguard. _

_'Not for long,' thought Heero. _

_Tonight would be the night that he would finally tell her his true feelings. For too long he had stayed in the shadows, keeping her always at arms length, bringing her pain when it was the last thing he would ever want but it was necessary to keep her safe. Her safety, to him, was top priority. And as much as it pained him to reject her advances, he just couldn't take the risk of having her hurt because of him. However, that was all about to change, tonight. Tonight in front of everyone, he will confess to Relena that he loves her and has always loved her from perhaps the very first moment he saw her on that beach, so long ago. _

_Just as he was about to go over to her table and tell her everything, Relena's brother, Milliardo (or Zechs if you prefer) came up to the podium to speak. _

_"Ladies and gentlemen, if I could have your attention please." Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked towards the front of the ballroom. He continued, _

_"We are here tonight to not only celebrate ten years of peace…" A few people raised their glasses and cheered. _

_"Settle down everyone. Settle down," he said, trying to calm everyone down so that he could continue. "But I have a very special announcement to make." He looked towards Relena. She smiled at him. He smiled back. _

_"I am happy to announce the engagement of my little sister, Relena, and Trowa Barton." _

_People began to clap and cheer but Heero just stood there as pain started at his chest and spread throughout his body. He couldn't breath; he had to get out there. Just as he was heading to the door to leave, Duo and Hilde just arrived and Duo was more than eager to say hello to everyone and his first stop was Heero. _

_"Hey, Heero!" Called the former Deathscythe pilot."How's it go-" "GET AWAY FROM ME!" Heero all but shouted. Some turned in his general direction but all they saw was a man staggering towards the exit, so they paid it no mind. _

That was a few short hours ago, now he was in what appeared to be a cemetery, rain pouring from the midnight sky. Heero had taken shelter in small mausoleum, where he lay weeping. He wept well into the night until he could cry no more. It had been the first time he cried in a long time; perhaps it was the first time in his entire life.

It was still raining when he decided to leave. As he stood up, he took an account of his surroundings; the mausoleum was spacious but not big. The wall adjacent to the doorway held the urns but what puzzled Heero was that there were only five urns on only one shelf. Deciding it best to get going, he left the mausoleum and cemetery.

He returned to the motel that he had rented before going to ball to see Relena. He opened the door, stepped in inside the motel, closed and locked the door. He knew what he was about to do. Relena could no longer be apart of his life. He just couldn't stand the sight of her with another man and Trowa could take care of her from now on. He walked over to the nightstand by the bed, opened the drawer, pulled out the Bible, set it on the nightstand, reached farther in the drawer, and pulled out a pistol. He checked to see if it was loaded. It had full clip. He pulled back on the slide, making sure there was a round in the chamber. He then put the gun under his chin, no note, no goodbyes except in his mind.

'Goodbye, Relena.' His finger moved to squeeze the trigger. He closed his eyes.

"HELP!" Somebody shouted. "HELP! SOMEBODY HELP US!" Heero stopped and opened his eyes. He looked towards the window, where the shout was originated. He went to the window, pulled back the curtains, and saw a seen he will never forget.

Outside, in the pouring rain was a couple being attack by three men. The couple appeared to have gone shopping due to all the scattered paper bags and clothing now soaked by the rain. Two men had the young man pinned to a nearby car, while the third had the women pinned against the wall. The man ran his hand up and down the woman's leg with a big grin on his face, while the women had tears streaming down her cheeks. Her husband, it appeared, yelled at the man to leave her alone but he didn't even look at him, as he continued to caress the woman's leg.

Heero isn't exactly sure when he decided to go out there because the next thing he knew, he was standing outside, his pistol still in his hand. All three men stopped what they were doing when they noticed Heero standing there, but what the didn't notice was his gun.

The one with the girl was the first to speak.

"Hey, man." He said. "Go find your own show."

Heero said something in a hush voice that the men didn't quite catch. "What did you say, man?"

Heero spoke louder this time, "I said leave them alone."

The men began to chuckle. The first one spoke again, "Hey, man if you're looking for trouble than we could-"

He never got a chance to finish as a bullet entered his cranium. He fell to the ground a lifeless corpse, a river of blood flowing from were the bullet had exited his skull.

The other two who had the younger man pinned against the car decided to abandon this petty crime and took off running. But they didn't get far as Heero fired two more rounds and the two men fell dead. Heero lowered his weapon and turned to the young couple.

The man was helping his wife stand when they turned to look at him. He just stood there looking back until finally he spoke.

"Get out of here. Now."

The pair nodded their heads and began picking up their belongings. When they thought they had everything, they turned and began walking away, the young man supporting his wife.

That's when Heero noticed the black crumpled shirt at his feet. He bent down and retrieved it, he held it out and said,"You forgot something."

The couple turned back around and the man said, "Keep it," and continued down the sidewalk.

Heero looked down at the crumpled shirt. He began to unfold it to see if anything was on it. What he found was a white, menacing looking skull.

My very first fic.


	2. Ch 2 Understanding

Ch. 2 Understanding

Heero just starred at the skull, while the skull stared back. Heero had seen this shirt before but he didn't know where. Suddenly Heero felt something surge through his entire body. He knew now where he had seen this symbol before and now he understood his purpose. He needed to go pack and then he would need to get a car, no a truck, it would have to carry a large load. But first he needed to write his Declaration of Intent.

He was driving along Main St. looking for a specific building, it had been years since his mentor, Odin, had showed him the building but things were starting to look familiar. Then he saw it: the newly rebuilt Maxwell Church. He parked the truck just in front of the large wooden doors. He got out of the truck making sure to lock it and grabbed the shirt.

He opened one of the doors and found an almost empty church. It was about noon so there was nobody else inside the church except for the priest cleaning up after a sermon when he noticed Heero. He was elderly, with a gray hair and matching beard and wire-frame glasses.

"Well, hello to you young sir," He spoke in a thick Irish accent. "I'm Father Mulcahy."

"Heero Yuy." He said, it was short and to the point.

Father Mulcahy nodded and smiled, "So, what can I do for you?"

Heero unfolded the shirt and held it up so the priest could see it.

Father Mulcahy's smiled faded, "Oh dear," he said. "Wait here for a moment." He walked quickly to Heero's right and went through a door. He reappeared a little later with a lantern. "You might want to follow me."

He went to the opposite side of the church to a small door and waited until Heero was beside him before opening the door to reveal a narrow staircase leading downwards. Father Mulcahy turned the lantern on and said, "Watch your step."

After following the stairs for some time the eventually reached the basement. "It's an old bomb shelter," explained Father Mulcahy. "That's how it was able to survive the war."

He led Heero to a large crate covered by a sheet. When the sheet was removed the box was painted olive drab and labeled U.S. Military. Heero opened the crate to reveal a very large arsenal, from pistols to assault rifles, to shotguns to high explosives. On top the weapons, however, was a black Kevlar flak jacket. Heero picked it up and turned it over and on the front was another angry looking skull. This one was very faded, however. 'I'll have to do something about that,' he thought. He set armor down and began sifting through the weapons and somewhat organizing them.

Finally Father Mulcahy spoke for the first time since they came down here. "So, I assume you will become the next one?"

Heero stopped as he pulled out one of the pistols, it was a M1911A1 otherwise known as a Colt .45

"Yes." He answered plainly.

"In that case," he said. "God be with you."

Heero stopped just as he was about to put a fresh magazine in the pistol. He thought about this for a moment. He had once said that he didn't believe in God but last night, when he saved those people, he felt something, something different, something he had never felt before, it was the similar to what he felt when he was inside the mausoleum, it had felt like someone was there, comforting him.

Finally Heero answered, "We'll just see what God has in stored for me." Then he rammed the magazine into the pistol and pulled back on the slide, chambering the first round.

City Hall, Downtown New York, Monday morning, December 25th, Christmas, 7:00 a.m.

Relena had been lent an office so she could do her work. However, she found herself glancing towards the clock, very often too.

"Heero," she breathed. He was not only a half-hour late but it was the first time that he had ever been late, in fact he usually comes in early.

"Heero," she breathed again.

She shook her head trying to dispel the thoughts constantly entering and exiting her mind. She was with Trowa now, they were going to get married next June and start a family. Besides, Heero had made it perfectly clear that he had no emotional attachments to her whatsoever. Still, she missed him being beside her, protecting her or at least listening to what she had to say. Now, without him, she felt somewhat lonely.

Suddenly, she heard a loud engine approach the building, stop, and turned off. Relena stood up, went to the window, pull back the blinds, and looked towards the parking lot. She saw an all black, muscle car park directly under her and was a bit surprised when Heero stepped out of the driver's seat. He was dressed in all black, from his black fatigues to his black leather trench coat. The only thing that wasn't completely black was his shirt, which adorned a white skull.

He entered the building just as Relena sat down; he made his way towards her office, and ignored the glances he got from other people in the building until he finally reached her office. He took a deep breath and prepared himself for what he was about do. He placed his hand on the doorknob, turned it, pushed open the door… and there she was.

She looked up from her paperwork and smiled. God, that smile, it almost brought him to his knees but Heero managed keep his composure.

"Hello, Heero," she said. "You know you're a little late."

"Hn," was his only response as he put his hands in the pockets of his trench coat.

He took another deep breath and took a couple of steps until he was just in front of her desk. He slipped his right hand out of his pocket, reached inside his coat, pulled out a white envelope and handed it to Relena.

Her smiled faded a bit as she took the letter from his hand, "What's this?" she asked, starring at the letter.

"My letter of resignation," he said. "I'm leaving, today."

Relena's smile was completely gone by this revelation and was replaced with her mouth slightly open due to the shock of Heero leaving. So many words entered her mind as she frantically tried to put a sentence together but only one word escaped her lips,

"Why?" she asked.

"I can't stay here," he said. "There's something I have to do. Something I should have done a long time ago." With that he turned and left, never once looking back.

He was just about to leave when he heard a familiar voice speak, "Hey, Heero. I missed you at the party last night."

Heero turned to face his friend. "Duo." He stated plainly. He turned back to leave but Duo called out to him before he could.

"Heero, wait," he said. "Were are you going?" "I'm leaving." Heero said. "And I'm never coming back." He began to move towards the exit.

Duo thought for a moment then asked, "What should I tell the others?"

Heero stopped, sighed then turned around to face him, "Duo," He looked down at the floor, looked back up and said, "Duo you're my best friend and I wish you and Hilde all the happiness in the world. The same goes for Wufei and Sally, and Quatre and Dorothy."

"And what about Trowa and Relena?" Duo asked. Heero clenched his fists in anger and said, "Tell Trowa to watch his back," Heero said. "Because you never now when a friend is going to stab it." With that said he turned and left the building.


	3. Ch 3 Nightmare

Ch. 3 Nightmare

_Three months latter…_

Charlie Grice ran for his life, scared out of his mind.

Not ten minuets ago, he had secured one of the biggest drug deals of his life, and then a shadow came and murdered all of his associates. Only he had managed to escape and now he was running down a dark alley, trying to escape from the shadow that was chasing him.

Then, after rounding a corner, he came face to face with the very nightmare that had been pursuing him. However, it wasn't his face that Charlie was staring at. It was his chest where his eyes lay as a white skull stared evilly at him, as if starring into his very soul, filling him with fear.

Since he was so focused on the skull, he barely noticed the other man draw a holstered pistol and point it right at his forehead. Charlie took a step back, fell to his knees, and began begging the other man to spare his life.

The other man just glared at the scum in front of him, never once lowering his weapon. "Why should I spare _you_?" he asked. "You are responsible for the deaths of countless innocents."

"I didn't kill nobody." Charlie stated. "You sold them the drugs that led to their deaths. But I'll make sure that no more die by your hand ever again." He said this as he pulled back the hammer of his Colt .45 and squeezed the trigger, ending the life of another criminal.

'Every muzzle flash means one more monster gone.' He told himself as he walked away from the grisly scene he had created.

He walked down the street at close to midnight after finishing his 'rounds'. Due to how late it was, there were very few people out, save for some homeless people and a few stragglers making there way home.

But the few people who were out paid little attention to the man with four identical .45s (two on either thigh and the other two on either side of his torso.), a stainless Smith & Wesson 500 Magnum Revolver, with an extended ejector shroud (a.k.a. a Hand Cannon) holstered on his lower back, a M4X knife in a boot scabbard, and a distinct white skull on his Kevlar body armor. The only reason that people ignored him was because he was not a threat to them. He was their protector, the one who kept the darkness at bay; he was Heero Yuy, the Punisher.

He made his way to one of New York's many subway stations; again people seemed to ignore the passing vigilante. He went to the end of the platform, passed the 'DO NOT ENTER' sign, jumped onto the tracks, and began to jog down the tunnel until he reached a hatch in the opened it and climbed down the ladder that led to his 'home'.

A creature stirred and came to greet its master. It was Max, Heero's German Shepard that acted as his body guard while he slept, other than that he was Heero's faithful companion.

He petted the dog as he removed his gear, leaving him in his long-sleeved shirt, matching fatigues, and his boots, all one color: black. Heero made his way to the only armchair in his entire home, positioned in front of a small table and on the table was his laptop computer. He sat down and pulled the laptop into his lap and turned it on. Max came over and placed his head on the armrest and Heero began to scratch his ears before lying down at Heero's feet.

Heero started off by checking his mail and found that his armorer, Glitch, had gotten his hands on some new weaponry and that Heero should come over and take a look.

Just as Heero was about to reply, he received a phone call from Duo. He decided to humor his old friend by answering the call and Duo's smiling face filled up the screen.

"Hey, Heero," Duo said, still grinning. "Haven't seen you in while."

"What do you want, Duo?" Heero asked.

"Is that anyway to talk to your_ best _friend?"Duo replied.

"Duo, answer the question." Heero growled, Max's head snapped up, thinking that someone might be endangering Heero. Heero put him at ease by rubbing his stomach.

"Okay, fine," Duo, said, holding up his hands in a defensive manner. "I asked Hilde to marry me and she said 'yes'." Duo, could hardly keep the excitement out of his voice.

"Congratulations, Duo," Heero said, with very little emotion in his voice. "What does that have to do with me?"

"Oh come on Heero. You know you have to come." Stated Duo.

Heero sighed, "Who's coming?" He asked.

"You know she'll be there. Trowa too." Duo said turning a bit more serious.

"I know but I still want a list of who will be there."

"Okay." Duo said and a list of names appeared next to Duo.

Heero scrolled down the list, stopping occasionally when he saw a name of someone from his past. Then a group of politicians's names came up. "Why are these politicians coming?" Heero asked.

"They're friends of Relena's," Duo said. "That doesn't bother you does it?" Duo asked, becoming a bit suspicious.

"No," Heero said.

"Okay, I'm sending you the address of where we'll be meeting and the date as well." Duo said as the invitation came up.

"Thanks." Heero said.

"No problem, man. I'll see you there." Duo said, then the screen went blank.

"Indeed you will, Duo," Heero said as he leaned back into the chair. "Five birds, one bullet."

"Relena," Hilde called as Relena walked into the lobby of the Brad Street Hotel.

"Hilde," Relena called back, as she set her luggage on the floor and made her way towards Hilde. The two embraced just as Duo came over to greet her as well but in a slightly different way. Just as Hilde and Relena released each other, Duo swept Relena of her feet and spun her around a few times before setting her back down.

"It's nice to see you too, Duo," she said, breathless from laughing so hard. "And congratulations to you both."

"Thanks, Relena. Where's Trowa?" Hilde asked, looking around for him.

"Oh, he's getting the other bags," Relena said. Just as she finished saying this, Trowa walked into the lobby, holding the other bags.

"Hey Trowa," Duo called. "Over here." Duo waved his hand for Trowa to come over. Trowa walked over and set down the bags. As soon as he did, Hilde wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him a welcoming hug.

"Hello, Hilde, Duo." Trowa said to both of them. "So, where is everybody?"

"Oh, uh," Duo stuttered for a moment.

"Quatre and Dorothy will be here tonight and Wufei and Sally will be here tomorrow morning."

"So when is the wedding suppose to be?"Relena asked.

"At about 3, tomorrow," Hilde said.

"And where is it going to happen?" asked Trowa.

"Maxwell Church," Duo replied.

"Is anyone else we know going to be there?" asked Relena.

"Well, Anne and Mariemaia should be there," Duo began counting them off."Zechs and Noin, will probably be there, Catherine will definitely be there, and then there's Heero-"

"You invited Heero?" Relena blurted out.

"Yeah," Duo said. "Why, what's wrong?"

"She probably doesn't want me to be there." A voice said from behind them.

They all turned around to see Heero there, standing in with his hands in the pockets of his black, leather trench coat.

Relena stared at him, mouth agape. He was wearing exactly the same outfit that he was wearing when he told her that he was leaving, most notably the skull shirt he was wearing.

"Hey, Heero," Duo called. "I didn't expect you would come."

"Then why did you invite me?" Heero asked.

"Well, I still wanted you to come," Duo replied. "Cool shirt," Duo added. "Where did you get it?"

"A friend gave it to me," Heero said.

"Oh, okay," Duo, replied. "Hey, how did you get here so fast?" Duo asked. "I called you only yesterday."

"I live here." Heero said.

Hilde's eyes widened a bit. "You live here." It was a statement, rather than a question. "How do deal with all the crime?"

Heero turned to look at Hilde and said, "You'll find out." Then he picked up his only bag, stepped into an elevator, pressed the button and then was gone.

"What do you think he meant by 'you'll find out'?" Hilde asked as she lay in bed with Duo.

"I don't know but it creeped me out too. I mean Heero's acted weird before but not like this. You know he hasn't left his room since he got here." Duo said.

"Maybe you should go talk to him." Hilde suggested.

"He's probably already asleep," Duo countered. "You have a big day tomorrow."

"So do you," She countered back. "But knowing Heero, he's probably still awake." Duo sighed and got out of bed.

"Don't stray to far." Hilde warned.

Duo smiled, "Never."

Heero was busy sharpening his knife, _he_ had a big day tomorrow, more of the corrupt to punish. Just then he heard a knocking at the door. He put the knife away, got up, and answered the door.

"Duo," he said once he saw who was on the other side of the walked away, leaving the door open, silently inviting Duo in.

Heero sat down on the bed and asked, "What is it, Duo?"

"Nothing," Duo said. "I just wanted to see how you were doing."

"Well, I'm doing fine, okay," he said.

"Oh, okay then." Duo turned to leave but stopped when Heero spoke again.

"How did Trowa and Relena meet?" he asked.

"Oh, uh," Duo thought for a moment. "Trowa's sister, Catherine, introduced them to each other."

"I see," was his only reply.

Duo turned to leave again but was stopped by Heero's voice once more. "One more thing Duo, I might not be able to make it to the ceremony, but I will be there for the reception," Heero said.

"Why?" Duo asked.

"I have something to take care of but I guarantee I'll be at the reception," Heero stated.

"Promise?" Duo asked.

Heero extended his hand and said, "I give you my word."

Duo took Heero's hand into his own and shook it. Duo smiled, Heero half-smiled back. Duo made his way outside the door and closed it behind him.

Heero's smile faded instantly, he got up of the bed, walked over to the table were his laptop was, sat down and started it up.

After awhile, a scrawny looking man with brown hair and glasses. "Heero," he said quickly. "I've been waiting since noon. What took so long?"

"Never mind that, Glitch," Heero said. "I need intell on the bodyguards of the following: Senators John Keene and Helen Heyer, District Attorney James 'Jim' Garrison, Judge Robert Bethell, and Councilman Douglass Fowler."

"Anything else, Heero?" Glitch asked. "Perhaps a Cheeseburger with some fries and a shake."

"Glitch," Heero growled. "Just do it!"

"Okay, Okay," Glitch, said. "God, can't you take a joke?" Then the screen went blank.

Heero took out his knife and began sharpening it again, 'Tomorrow, they'll know who I really am."

_The next day…_

"Hi, Jim," Relena greeted her friend.

"Hey, Relena," Jim greeted back. The two shared a quick embraced before Relena showed him to his room.

"Do you know when everyone else will be here?" she asked. "About the time of the reception." "Okay see you there," she departed.

Heero watched from around the corner, he could have killed him now but he needed them to all to be in one place and it appeared that he would have to wait until tonight at the reception. The only fortunate thing was that none of the guards were innocent and tonight, he will show no mercy.

_Later that night…_

True to his word, Heero had not shone up for the ceremony. And now, here, at the reception he was nowhere to be found but Duo decided not to let it get him down. After all, he was a married man now and everyone else seemed to be enjoying themselves.

At the newly-wed's table was Hilde and Duo in the center; to their lefts was Trowa, Relena, and her friends: first there was John Keene, a young man with black hair and brown eyes, who was sitting between Relena and Helen Heyer. She was a woman of stunning beauty, with long blond hair and dark green eyes. Sitting across from Senator Heyer was Councilman Fowler, a heavy-set man with dark skin. And finally; Quatre, Dorothy, Wufei, Sally and at the end of the table was Judge Robert Bethel, blond haired and blue eyes accompanied a handsome face. Also there was Jim Garrison District Attorney, he was quite handsome with brown hair and blue eyes, were to their rights (Zechs and Noin couldn't make it until tomorrow).

As everyone was conversing, Senator Keene stood up, taped on his glass with his knife to get everyone's attention.

"Everyone," he addressed. "I just like to say how happy I am to be here and how happy I am for this young couple."

Everyone began to clap. "And I also like to express my gratitude to my good friend Relena, I hope that you'll invite me for your-" Suddenly the lights went off,

"Hey, what happened to the lights?" he asked.

Then, he saw something that filled him with fear. "Oh, God!"

That's when the nightmare began. A bright red flash blinded almost everyone in the room. However, Relena was one of the few who wasn't blinded. But she wished she had been, because the sight she saw shall never be forgotten.

There, standing on the table, holding a flare and a large knife and clad in body armor, was the Punisher.

He set the flare down on the table walked over to Senator Keene and cut his head almost clean off his shoulders, splattering blood on Relena and Senator Heyer.

Fearing for her life, Heyer produced a pistol from her purse but before she could do anything with it, Heero had gotten his hands around her and snapped her neck.

Fowler soon followed her as Heero drove his knife into his skull, then picking up the silverware of the now deceased councilman, Heero through the fork into Robert Bethel's eye, killing him. Then he threw the knife at Garrison, slicing his neck open, blood spewing fourth like a fountain. With that accomplished, Heero retrieved his knife from Fowler's cranium and sheathed it in his boot scabbard.

Suddenly, the lights came back on and the guards came pouring into the room.

Heero drew two of his .45s and began firing at the oncoming guards, killing a good number of them.

He holstered his .45s, knelt down and drew his Magnum. Even though it had five shots, he was able to kill more if they were lined up.

Just as he ran out of ammo, a few guards came in brandishing assault rifles; Heero barely had time to dive out of the way, leaving the Magnum behind. He managed to get behind an upturn table and return fire with his pistols. Just as he thought he was gaining the upper hand, more guards showed up. He contacted Glitch through an earpiece and told him to kill the lights again and just a few moments later, the room was plunged into darkness once more. Even though everyone else couldn't see the battle, they could here the screams and the sickening sound of bones breaking but no gunshots.

Suddenly, just as quickly as the lights went off, they came back on. Heero strode back into the room; he walked towards the front table, which everyone was standing behind, fearful for their lives.

Heero appeared to be looking for something, "Hn," it seems he found it. He bent down and picked up his Magnum.

He opened the chamber, ejected the empty shells and began reloading it. While he was doing this, it seemed a wounded guard went unnoticed as he began to crawl for his gun.

Just as Heero finished reloading, the guard had picked up his sub-machine gun and pointed at Heero's back. Suddenly, Heero turned around and fired one shot into his skull, causing to practically explode.

He then holstered his weapon and turned to face his 'friends'. They either had a look fear or just not understanding, Heero stared back at them with narrowed eyes. Then, he spoke for the first time that night, however, everyone there will be forever haunted by these words, "This is just the beginning."

Then he pulled out a flash bang grenade, pulled the pin, and tossed it. When every ones vision returned, Heero was gone.


	4. Ch 4 Inadequacies

Ch. 4 Inadequacies

It was now 10:30 p.m. and the medical team was still cleaning up the bodies and so far they hadn't found any survivors.

The NYPD had come as well, they asked a few questions and when they got a description of the 'murderer', they told everyone not to leave but to stay and wait for a 'specialist'.

Duo was busy comforting Hilde, "He ruined my wedding day," she said, wiping tears from her eyes.

"I know, I know," he said, wrapping his arms around, letting her cry on his shoulder.

Relena was trying to get the blood off of both her skin and dress, with a wet washcloth. She couldn't get that image out of her head, Heero standing there, looking upon everyone with anger and was right behind her, being at the ready in case she needed him.

Quatre was a little more than repulsed by Heero's actions. Dorothy, however, just seemed to be brush it off but Quatre could tell on the inside, she was just as horrified as everyone else was. He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her. As soon as he touched her, he could feel her relax into his embrace and she laid her head on his shoulder.

Sally was helping the paramedics with the bodies while Wufei stood in a corner with his arms folded across his chest, trying to figure out why Heero had done this.

Just then, Zechs and Noin arrived, Zechs immediately going to Relena and began checking her for injuries.

"I'm fine," she told him.

"As soon as we heard, we came right over," Noin said.

"We heard that Heero's the murderer," Zechs stated.

Before Relena had a chance to reply, a voice from behind them said, "He's not just a murderer," they all turned to see a man who appeared to be in his mid to late forties. He was wearing a gray raincoat and underneath that was a blue suit. His voice was laced with a slight but noticeable Irish accent. "He's also a vigilante." he continued.

"Who are you?" Duo asked.

The man reached into his back pocket, pulled out a wallet, and flipped it open, revealing a badge. "I'm Detective Eric Finch. I'm with the NYPD's Punisher Task Force," when he finished, he put the wallet back in his pocket.

"The what?" Hilde asked.

"Punisher Task Force," he repeated. He looked around at the carnage before him, and then he walked over to a paramedic and asked, "How many?"

"So far, we count forty-three." Finch pulled out a small notepad and began flipping through the pages. "Not his highest count but its up there."

While he was still going over his notes, Quatre came forward and asked, "Excuse me, Detective but why exactly are you here?"

Finch didn't even look up from his notepad as he spoke, "I'm here to investigate this crime scene and see if I can find anything that might lead to the Punisher's whereabouts. In fact, I'd like to talk to you and everyone else here."

Relena walked over to Finch and asked, "You said he's not murder, right?" Finch nodded his head. "THEN WHAT THE HELL WOULD YOU CALL THIS!?" She shouted, tears beginning to form at the corners of her eyes.

Finch didn't even flinch at this outburst of anger. "In his mind," Finch said. "Justice."

"Whose mind?" Sally asked as she came over. "Heero's?" Finch turned towards her and said,

"If that's how you want to refer to him, then yes, in Heero's mind, this is justice."

"How can this be justice?" Relena asked through clenched teeth. "He _murdered_ some of the best and most kindest people I know."

Finch began flipping through his notepad again, then stopped. "If you're talking about the VIPs that were here," he said. "Well then you're wrong about them being kind." "What are you talking about?" Relena asked.

"Well," Finch said. "None of them were in the least bit kind or least they weren't kind to the people they were suppose to be kind to."

"I don't understand," she said.

"Doesn't surprise me." Finch replied. "You see, the Punisher kills the corrupt and your friends were just about as corrupt as it comes."

"Th-that can't be," Relena stuttered.

"Well it is," said Finch, as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes and started smoking one. "You see," he continued. "Your 'friends' here were accepting bribes from the mob and also giving bribes. They also had their bodyguards take out a few of their competitors, as well a few cops that were investigating them,"

Finch looked around at the remaining bodies. "That's probably why he didn't leave any survivors."

"How is it that they were never prosecuted?" Dorothy asked, coming up from behind Quatre.

Finch turned to her and said, "Like I said: corrupt. Little bribes here and there, a couple of threats every now and again."

Relena couldn't speak, some of the best people she had ever known, had been just been killed right in front of her eyes and now she's finding out that they did horrible things to people.

"Well," Finch spoke, looking at his watch. "I suppose I should be going."

He began to walk towards the exit when Duo called to him. "Wait." Finch stopped and turned around. "Don't you need to talk to us?"

Finch sighed, "Come down to 12th Precinct tomorrow," he said. "We'll talk then." and with that he turned and left the building.

'Where have I seen him before?' thought Duo.

_The next day…_

Relena's limo pulled to the parking lot of the 12th Precinct, it stopped in front of the entrance and everybody stepped out of the car except for Pagan, who went to go park the car. They all went through the entrance, down a corridor, which led to a large room full of desks and people going about their duties.

An elderly looking men with a receding hairline, and a thick gray mustache, looked up from the file he was currently looking at, closed it, put it on a nearby desk, and walked over to the group. He was wearing a tan colored suit with a black tie and had kind look in his eyes.

"Hello, I'm Captain John McCluskey," he said, introducing himself.

Everyone else, in turned, introduced themselves as well. McCluskey was mildly surprised to find the Vice Foreign Minister and handful of Preventers in his precinct.

"Well I'm in charge here, so, if you have any questions, just ask me, okay."

"We're looking for Detective Finch. We're here to talk to him about someone called the uhm…" Duo thought for a moment. "The Punisher."

Every cop in the room stopped whatever they doing and the entire building seem to fall silent. "Since when did the Preventers give a rat's ass about a vigilante?" asked Captain McCluskey, with a detectable hint of spite in his voice.

"He was a friend of ours." Sally stated, with a bit of anger in her own voice. Wufei put his hand on her shoulder in an effort to calm her down.

"Huh, didn't know the Punisher had friends," said McCluskey. "Room 12, the basement."

They all headed in the direction the Captain indicated to.

Before they went through the door the Captain spoke again, "Oh and one other thing Agent Maxwell, no matter what happens, no matter what you do or how hard you try, you will never catch the Punisher."

"Why do you say that?" Duo asked. "If you meet him again, you'll find out."

They made their way down to the basement, which had countless shelves full of boxes, almost making it impossible to move anywhere but in single file.

Eventually they came to Detective Finch, sitting in a desk amongst all the shelves. He seemed to be writing in a file and he didn't even look up when they approached him.

"Excuse me, Detective Finch" Relena started but was interrupted by Finch raising his free hand, with his index finger extended, silently asking for a moment. Soon after, he finished and closed the file.

He looked up and said, "Well it's good to see you're all here. I suppose we should get started." He motioned for them to sit down; conveniently there were enough chairs for everyone.

When everyone was seated, Duo spoke first, "Detective, before you start asking questions, I'd like to know why Heero's doing this."

"And for how long," added Quatre. Finch turned in their general direction and said, "To answer both of your questions," he opened the bottom drawer and pulled out a file. "Let's go back three months."

He opened the file and showed them three pictures; the first one had man lying on his back, his eyes were open, and he had gunshot wound to the forehead. Finch showed them the other two pictures; they both showed men lying face down on the ground with bullet wounds in their backs.

"Two witnesses who saw these three men being murdered said that the shooter was a young man, with a medium build and unruly brown hair. They also said that he was 'protecting' a young couple from being mugged and after the couple left, he went into a nearby motel room and apparently left a little after that. And when we investigated this crime scene, as well as the motel room, we found this," he held up a folded piece of paper.

"And this," he produced another picture. This was obviously taken inside because it showed a large skull carved into a wall.

"And what's the piece of paper?" asked Relena.

"It's a little note your friend left us." Finch said, as he began to unfold it. "Here I'll read it to you. It says:

_I leave this as a declaration of intent, so no one will be confused.  
_

_One: "Si vis pacem, para bellum." Latin. Its been passed down through generation to generation of men in this line of work. "Si vis pacem, para bellum- If you want peace, prepare for war." _

_Two: Heero Yuy is dead. In fact, he may not have ever existed, but if he did, he is now dead. He died the moment Relena chose to marry Trowa._

_Three: The law is inadequate. To shame its inadequacy, one most act outside the law, to pursue what is known as natural justice. It has been given many names, such as payback, vendetta, even karma; but most notably, especially those in this profession, it has been called vengeance. But for me this is not vengeance. It's Punishment._

_Four: To all those who prey on the innocents- the murders, the rapists, pedophiles, and sadists- you will come to know me well. Heero Yuy is no more. From this moment on call me the Punisher._

"And that's the end," Finch said as he concluded the 'declaration'.

"What did he mean by 'men in this line of work?' Catherine asked.

"He means the Punishers before him." Finch replied.

"You mean there was more of them?" asked Duo.

"Of course there was," Finch replied.

"How many were there?" Relena asked.

"Including this one," Finch said. "Seven." He pulled out another file and opened it. "The Punishers are as followed:

Number One: Frank David Castle, Sr., 1966 A.D.-2056 A.D., years active: 2002 A.D.-2056 A.D.; Special Forces Instructor, became the first Punisher when his family was gunned down by members of the Costa Crime family in Central Park after witnessing a mob execution; Known Relatives: Sister living in Colorado, Name: Anne Possible (married), unwilling to disclose any information; Death: Natural Causes.

Number Two: Jake Gallows, 2074 A.D.-2149 A.D., years active: 2099 A.D.-2149 A.D.; Homeland Security, became the Punisher after the murders of his mother, sister, and brother-in-law by Kron Stone; Known Relatives: None; Death: Natural Causes.

Number Three: Dolph Lundgren, 2170 A.D.-2255 A.D., years active: 2200 A.D.-2255 A.D.; NYPD Detective, became the Punisher after the murder of his family in a car bomb by an unknown perpetrator; Known Relatives: None; Death: Natural Causes.

Number Four: Thomas Jane, A.C. 001-A.C. 087, years active: A.C. 035-A.C. 087; FBI agent/United States Delta Force, became the Punisher after the murder of his entire family in a mob hit that was issued by Howard Saint; Known Relatives: None; Death: Natural Causes.

Number Five: Paul Kersey, A.C. 062-A.C. 142, years active: A.C. 112-A.C. 142; Architect/United States Army Combat Medic, became the Punisher after his wife and daughter were beaten and raped in their own apartment by unknown assailants, wife dies in hospital due to injuries, daughter later commits suicide; Known Relatives: None; Death: Natural Causes.

Number Six: Odin Lowe, A.C. 142-A.C. 188, years active: A.C. 172-A.C. 188; Assassin/Mercenary, became the Punisher for unknown reasons; Known Relatives: None; Death: Gunshot wound to the abdomen.

Number Seven: Heero Yuy, A.C. 180-Present; years active: A.C. 206-Present; Gundam Pilot/Preventer, became the Punisher for unknown reasons; Known Relatives: None.

"And that concludes our brief history lesson on the Punishers." Finch said as he closed the file.

"Hey," Duo spoke up. "It said you didn't know why Heero became the Punisher but its obvious its because Relena's going to marry Trowa."

Relena cast her eyes down, she felt partly responsible. If she had just listened to her heart and waited for Heero, this probably wouldn't have happen. But, instead, she had listened to her reasoning and instead chose Trowa. But it wasn't that she didn't love Trowa, she truly did, its just that Heero had always held her heart… perhaps he still did.

Finch looked over at Duo and said, "I don't think a broken heart would look good in a police file about a group of mass-murders that have been wreaking havoc for over four-hundred years."

Duo sighed, "So what do we do?"

"We?" Finch said. "Since when did the Preventers give a rat's ass about a vigilante?"

"Does every cop ask that?" Duo retorted.

"Probably." Finch countered. "Well, if do want to help I suggest that you look through some of the case files and get to know exactly what you're about to face but before you leave I'd like to get all your names."

Everyone agreed and they introduced themselves. Everything went fine until Duo introduced himself.

"Duo Maxwell," Finch said. "Do you have any relationship with a man known as Father Maxwell?"

"I was raised by him," answered Duo.

"I thought you looked familiar," Finch said. "I'm the one who brought you to Maxwell Church."

Duo's mouth dropped, then turned into a large grin. "Hey, yeah, that's right. I can't believe I didn't recognize you before."

"Well, it was almost twenty years ago," said Finch.

"Yeah, I guess it was," replied Duo.

They all began to move when Duo stopped and said, "Wait, uh which one is it?"

"What?" Finch asked.

"The Punisher killings," he said. "The ones Heero's done."

"Pick one." Finch said.

Duo looked around at the other shelves and then it dawned on him. "Whoa." He let out a long sigh.

_Two weeks later…_

It was close to midnight, when the old men came stumbling out of the bar. He had shaggy, gray hair, and matching, but trimmed, beard. He was dressed in a collared shirt, a loosened black tie, black slacks, and a tan trench coat. He stumbled into a nearby alleyway, tripped over his own two feet and fell to the ground, nearly taking two trash cans with him.

He laid on his back, just starring up at the night sky, until a shadow passed over him, all he could see was the silhouette of someone with messy brown hair and a white skull on his body armor.

The old man smiled. "Oh no," he said, chuckling. "It's the big, bad vigilante."

"Get up," said the younger man.

When the old man failed to stand, the younger man grabbed him by his collar, hoisted him up, and pushed him against the wall.

The man was still laughing, he held up his hands in mock surrender and said, "Okay, okay, I give up."

"Shank, I need some information, now," he growled.

"All right, Heero," he said, straitening himself against the wall and pulling out a flask. "What do what to know?"

"Someone's bringing women in from Russia and its not the Russians," Heero said.

" 'Course its not the Russians," Shank replied, taking a sip.

"You know?" Heero asked.

"Well," Shank said. "From what I heard, it's the Yakuzas who's movin' in and takin' over most of the vice around here."

"You know who's in charge?" Heero asked.

"I think it's a woman named Tanaka but you might want to 'ask around'," Shank said.

"Hn," was Heero's only reply as he turned and started to leave. Before he was out of his sight, Shank called to Heero, "Oh, uh, Mr. P.," Heero turned around and saw Shank raising his flask, as if to a toast. "Happy hunting."

AN: Has anyone notice the Easter Eggs I leave? For example, there is a clue to a future fic that I will be writing. Please some one read and review this story. Also this does take place in the same universe as the movie Punisher: War Zone, but the shirt is like the one from the 2004 movie.


	5. Ch 5 Stay Out of My Way

Ch. 5 Stay out of My Way

Heero walked home after getting as much intell as he possibly could. It turns out, Shank was right, the Yakuzas are taking over most of the crime in New York and the leader was indeed a woman by the name of Tanaka.

'Shank,' he thought. 'You always come through for me.' For the past three months, Shank had been helping him out by gathering information that could only be obtained by someone with a vast amount of street smarts, as well as being good at deception. Heero had met Shank while on the hunt; he originally thought that he was some alcoholic bum but it turns out that Shank had a lot of information about the scum Heero was hunting. Shank was also acting as Heero's 'conscience', telling him when he'll go to far and might just become the very evil that he's fighting, as well advising Heero to take a break every now and again.

Then there was Glitch, Heero's armorer, computer specialists, and good friend. Glitch, like Shank, also had a second purpose: to keep Heero focused. Glitch would always be there to remind Heero what being the Punisher was about, protecting the innocent and punishing the corrupt.

And finally, Max, a stray that Heero found. He trained him how to fight, to go for the parts that would deal the must damage, such as the jugular. Despite this, Max is overly friendly to those who posed no threat to Heero, Shank, Glitch, or anyone else his master considers a friend.

Halfway home, he decided to pay Shank another visit. Shank lived not far from Heero's base and it was short detour, plus he could run into more scum along the way. Shank lived in a rundown apartment complex in one of New York's many bad neighborhoods. These places were a mix of corruption and innocence, almost to the point were you couldn't tell the difference. But Heero knew, he had been trained to tell the difference, so no innocent would become a casualty of the Punisher's war.

Heero made his way to apartment number 129 on one of the top floors. Heero knocked on the door, letting Shank know that it was him, because he was the only one who knocked. He waited until Shank unlocked the door and Shank had a _lot_ of locks. The door opened and Heero walked in, and as soon as the door closed behind him, a gun was pointed to the right side of his head.

Without even looking to his right, he said, "Shank, put the gun down, you know it's me."

Shank lowered the weapon. "Sorry Heero," he said. "It's, just, you don't know who's going to be on the other side of that door."

"That's why I knock," Heero retorted.

"You don't know who'll knock either," Shank countered.

"Hn" Heero replied. Heero walked over to the sofa, if you could call it that. It was the kind of sofa you would see at a junkyard, but Heero didn't mind, he'd seen worse. As he sat down, Shank came over and placed a bottle of beer on the coffee table in front of Heero and one in front of himself as he pulled up an armchair.

Shank opened his beer while Heero just stared at his. "You're not gonna open it?" Shank asked. "Or are ya just gonna stare at until it magically opens?"

Heero looked up and glared at Shank. Shank smiled and shook his head, "You know that doesn't work on me."

"Not thirsty," Heero replied.

"So," Shank said. "Take it with you when you leave."

"I don't drink," Heero replied.

"Man, you are just one buzz kill after another." Shank said, taking a sip from his own beer. "So, why ya here?"

"Maybe I just wanted see a friend," Heero said.

"Yeah right," Shank said. "The only reason you'd come is because you need something."

"You were right," Heero said. "Yakuzas are moving in and their leader is a woman named Tanaka." "Told ya," Shank said taking another sip. "So, what are you going to do?"

"Seek and Destroy," Heero said.

A silence settled between the two men until finally Shank spoke. "Heero, I have some new information I think you should hear."

"What is it?" Heero asked.

"I hear that the Preventers are now helping the cops track you down." Shank said.

Heero sighed, "Well it was bound to happen sooner or later."

"So what are you do about them?" asked Shank.

"I'll know what to do when the time comes." Heero said as he got up. Shank finished his beer and moved to grab Heero's but it was quickly snatched up by Heero, who popped the top off and took a sip.

"I thought you didn't drink," Shank said.

Heero looked at him and said, "Yeah well, 'an eye for eye'." Then he turned and left the building.

He moved at slower pace then usual, perhaps it was the beer, or perhaps he just wanted to take a break from all the crime, perhaps, just for a moment he didn't have to be the Punisher.

But a woman's screams snapped him back into reality, he looked up from were the screams were coming from.

He saw a women struggling with a man on the roof of a large building, 'Skyscraper rapist,' Heero thought. 'The bastards are getting original now.' Heero spied a fire escape going up the building. He ran and leapt onto it and began climbing the many ladders.

Duo sighed for what Hilde had counted as the seventh time.

"What's wrong?" she asked as they were driving down Broadway after returning to the precinct to acquire another set of crime files. Hilde was worried that Duo might become obsessed with finding Heero.

"Nothing," he said. "It's just that…" He sighed.

'Number eight,' Hilde thought.

"Heero was one of us," he continued. "I mean, any one of us could have become the Punisher."

"Heero was always a soldier," she said. "It's not surprising that when the one thing that would turn him to a regular person vanishes, he becomes a soldier once again or at least in his eyes, he's a soldier."

"Yeah, but its strange the way the cops talk about him," Duo said. "Its like he's some sort of evil hero, doing good and bad at the same time."

"What do mean?" she asked.

"They like what he does," Duo said. "They think he's doing the right thing. One of them said and I quote, 'He does to those bastards, what us regular cops can only dream about.' It seems Finch is the only one who wants to catch him too."

"Well then it's a good thing that he's on our side," Hilde said as she smiled at Duo. He smiled back.

Suddenly, just as a red light turned green and they started to move forward, 'something' fell on the car. Duo slammed on the brakes, and when the car came to a complete stop, he looked to see what had hit the car.

What he saw both amazed and horrified him, "Holy Christ," he breathed, while Hilde screamed.

Halfway through the windshield, was a man's bloody, still conscience, face. They just stared at him while he stared back, he tried to say something but more blood just kept coming out of his mouth, then something else impacted the car. Whatever it was, it killed the first man, by severing his spine; not spinal cord, spine.

They looked up to see that it was Heero, who didn't seem to notice them as he stepped off the car and walked off, as if nothing had occurred. He walked to the other side of the street, turned the corner, and was gone.

Duo stepped out of the car and looked at Hilde and said, "Call an ambulance, I'll be back real soon." Without waiting for a reply from Hilde, Duo took of running in Heero's direction.

Duo went down an alleyway, hoping to intercept Heero and take him by surprise. His opportunity came when he saw Heero walk by and didn't notice him, this was his chance, and he had to act now.

"FREEZE!" Duo shouted, pointing his gun at Heero. Heero stopped, put his hands above his head, and turned around.

"Duo," he said, his face and voice remaining emotionless.

"You're under arrest," Duo replied and moved towards Heero to take his weapons.

As Duo reached out with his free hand to take one of Heero's pistols, Heero grabbed his arm and twisted it around his back. Using his free arm, the one still holding the gun, he started elbowing him in the stomach.

Eventually, Heero let go and Duo turned around and again pointed his gun at Heero. Heero grabbed him again, flipped Duo onto his back, took the gun and pointed it at Duo.

Duo held up his hands in defeat, as Heero walked over to him. For a moment, Duo thought that Heero was going to shoot him but instead, Heero pulled back on the slide, ejecting the chambered round and then he ejected the magazine.

He let them drop to the ground and said, "Here's a warning that I want you and the others to abide: stay out of my way. There's no place for you in _this _war," then he turned and left.

Duo walked back to his car, the sounds of sirens and flashing lights told him he was getting closer. Heero's words echoed in his mind, 'Stay out of my way.'

'Why would he say that?' Duo thought. Then it hit him, 'He could've easily killed me!' Duo thought. 'But why didn't he?' Then he remembered what Heero said in his 'declaration': 'Those who prey on the innocents…'

'He protects the innocents and punishes the corrupt!' Duo realized. 'He won't kill anyone who hasn't done anything! And that's how were going to beat him.'

Heero climbed down the ladder into his base, Max coming over to greet him, as he usually does. Heero removed his gear and sat down in his chair, Max accompanying him. Max laid his head in Heero's lap, he could feel Heero's distress, and so he tried to comfort him. Heero petted his head and half-smiled at him.

Glitch, Shank, and Max were now his only friends and Heero had come to terms with that this night. 'Duo, Hilde, Quatre, Dorothy, Wufei, Sally…' he thought. "Relena," he breathed. 'I'll never see them on friendly terms again.' Speaking of Glitch, he better head over to his place tomorrow and see if his 'special' order came in.

"He said, 'stay out of my way'," Duo stated. They had all gathered at Duo and Hilde's apartment to hear about his recent encounter with the Punisher. "He said it was a warning. He also said that there's no place for me in some war."

"What war could he possibly be talking about?" Noin asked.

"The war on crime." They all turned to see Detective Finch, standing in the doorway.

"How did you get in here?" Hilde asked. Finch threw something at Duo, which he caught.

"It's not safe to leave your keys in the lock," he said. Duo looked at his hands and indeed there were his keys.

"Whoops," Duo said.

"Anyway," Finch said. "The thing about the Punishers is that they believe they, as well as us cops, are fighting a war. So they treat it like a war."

He looked at Relena said, "I guess you can't end all wars, can you?" Relena just seem to glare at him

"So," Duo said. "Why are you here?"

"I came over to show you this," Finch said as he held up a disk.

"What's that?" Noin asked.

"A surveillance video." Finch said, "From a bank. I thought you might want to see it." Finch walked over to the TV, and put the disk in the player.

The picture came in to view as a surveillance camera watching the front desk. Everything was normal for a few moments, but then five men wearing masks and carrying assault rifles came into the picture. They began yelling at the clerks to give them all the money in the bank and if they didn't, then they would kill them.

"Why are showing this?" Hilde asked.

"Just wait," Finch said. A moment or two pasted before Finch stopped the video and pointed to something in the bottom corner of the TV. Everyone moved closer to see what he was pointing at but all they saw was a black blur.

"What's that?" Relena asked.

"Just wait," Finch repeated, as he continued the video. Suddenly, they saw a man jump over the counter and attack the five would be robbers. He apparently had a knife because he slashed one of the men's throat and he fell to the ground, dead. When they saw the man from the front, it was obvious who it was, the skull was a dead give away. Heero effortlessly slew the men one by one, until he got to the last one.

Heero shoved him into a wall, put his knife to the man's throat and said, "Tell me who's behind this and you just might live longer."

The man looked scared and said, "Oh, God, please I don't know anything."

Heero obviously didn't believe him, because he pressed harder on the knife. "I swear I don't know," the robber said as tears began to form at the corner of his eyes.

As they began to spill over, he shouted, "I'M GOING TO BE A DADDY!."

Heero's eyes widened, he looked down, then he stuck the knife in the wall, pulled the man close, and said, "Be a good one."

Then he knocked him unconscious, retrieved the knife, told one of the clerks to call 911, and left.


End file.
